On Saturday, the Delhi Capitals (DC) won by 7 wickets against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, kicking off their VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign. DC easily chased down a daunting total thanks to Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw’s exciting knocks at the end. Despite the absence of key overseas players such as Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, DC fielded some solid backups, with Tom Curran and Chris Woakes making their DC debuts, respectively. DC needed an energetic start from their openers to chase down a difficult goal of 189, and Dhawan and Shaw delivered.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni inserted spin into the battle to break up the opening partnership, and it almost worked, but Shaw was dropped in the outfield off Moeen Ali’s bowling in the eighth over, giving him a life. Shaw held the demolition going, while Dhawan kept the runs flowing on the other end, timing the ball to perfection as the DC openers smashed their half-centuries in no time. At the end of the 12 overs, DC had sustained their run rate, and the manner in which Dhawan and Shaw were hitting the ball suggested that they wanted to finish the game quickly.

Dhawan, on the other hand, managed to play with the bowlers’ lines, clearly striking the ball in the gaps. However, after hitting Shardul Thakur for two consecutive fours in the 17th over, he was caught in front, putting an end to a thrilling innings.

Pant, on the other hand, remained until the very end and ended the chase in style, slamming the fourth ball of the 19th over the fence for a four.